Aurora fashions ecommerce only in Netherlands

Aurora fashions, the group that owns Coast, Warehouse

and Oasis has announced it will no longer have concessions in department stores across the Netherlands. Instead its presence in these areas will be ecommerce driven alone.

A local language website will be rolled out in September following the closure of 11 Oasis and Warehouse concessions in the Vroom & Dreesman (V&D) department store chains this summer.

The group said the decision was in line with the its omni-channel retail strategy for 2012 in which it plans to drive international presence and growth for all three brands via a ‘right-fit’ market approach, without always relying on a traditional bricks and mortar footprint. The group currently operates 1,197 stores in 39 countries.

Mike Shearwood, CEO of Aurora Fashions, said: "Omni-channel isn’t multi-channel by default; it’s also about adopting an intelligent approach to market presence that provides the best customer journey. Based on the success of our existing multiple brand sites, we believe we can best serve the customer and accelerate growth in the Netherlands with an online only approach in the short to mid-term."